Since our post early this morning on Facebook, we have learned more information about some of the recent burglaries that have occurred while residents have been at home. This has been occurring on the west side of Moreland and seems to have migrated into East Atlanta of late, with one burglary on Gracewood and another on Glenwood. We hope we can separate fact from fiction as much as possible. Feel free to follow-up if you have questions or any information that may help solve these crimes.
First, there is no evidence that women are being targeted. The perpetrators appear to target homes where there are purses or wallets in plain view from outside the house. Since purses are more visible from outside a house, it may be more likely that a woman is home when they break in. We strongly recommend keeping anything of value out of sight of doors and windows to avoid tempting these criminals. In order for the purse to be inside the home, a person is usually inside too. These criminals seem to know and not care that someone is home, and appear to turn off the power in order to gain a higher element of surprise.
They are definitely targeting homes without locks on their electrical box. While it may be illegal to lock the electrical box or to have double-sided deadbolts on our doors, we should choose to make our houses less accessible to these types of criminals. We also recommend backup power supplies for alarms, which are good for these types of burglaries or when you lose power for a few hours. We also recommend that alarms don't rely solely on a home phone line, as phone lines have been cut in past burglaries. An alarm system with a cellular backup or cellular as the primary method of communication is preferred.
There are tag numbers being listed on multiple websites that are not likely to be related to these crimes. The vehicle we mentioned this morning, a black Chrysler sedan with Florida tags was a possible lead from multiple burglaries. There is no evidence to indicate that tag AUQ 5464 belongs to anyone other than an area resident who has done nothing wrong.
Many of these burglaries have occurred in the vicinity of 8:00 - 10:00 pm, so please don't hesitate to call 911 followed immediately by the EASP at 404-954-1568. Officers are patrolling during the evening hours as much as possible, so don't hesitate be afraid to call in anything suspicious. While you do not need to be a member to call, more members mean more patrol hours. All EASP officers are off-duty APD officers in uniform, armed, and have full arrest powers.
First, there is no evidence that women are being targeted. The perpetrators appear to target homes where there are purses or wallets in plain view from outside the house. Since purses are more visible from outside a house, it may be more likely that a woman is home when they break in. We strongly recommend keeping anything of value out of sight of doors and windows to avoid tempting these criminals. In order for the purse to be inside the home, a person is usually inside too. These criminals seem to know and not care that someone is home, and appear to turn off the power in order to gain a higher element of surprise.
They are definitely targeting homes without locks on their electrical box. While it may be illegal to lock the electrical box or to have double-sided deadbolts on our doors, we should choose to make our houses less accessible to these types of criminals. We also recommend backup power supplies for alarms, which are good for these types of burglaries or when you lose power for a few hours. We also recommend that alarms don't rely solely on a home phone line, as phone lines have been cut in past burglaries. An alarm system with a cellular backup or cellular as the primary method of communication is preferred.
There are tag numbers being listed on multiple websites that are not likely to be related to these crimes. The vehicle we mentioned this morning, a black Chrysler sedan with Florida tags was a possible lead from multiple burglaries. There is no evidence to indicate that tag AUQ 5464 belongs to anyone other than an area resident who has done nothing wrong.
Many of these burglaries have occurred in the vicinity of 8:00 - 10:00 pm, so please don't hesitate to call 911 followed immediately by the EASP at 404-954-1568. Officers are patrolling during the evening hours as much as possible, so don't hesitate be afraid to call in anything suspicious. While you do not need to be a member to call, more members mean more patrol hours. All EASP officers are off-duty APD officers in uniform, armed, and have full arrest powers.
